Handrail safety device



8- 1958 P. w. VAN ETTEN 2,848,093

HANDRAIL SAFETY DEVICE Filed Jan. 10. 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIG. 2.

PETER W VANETTE/V,

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY.

Aug. 19, 1958 P. w. VAN ETTEN 2,848,093

HANDRAIL SAFETY DEVICE Filed Jan. 10. 1956 2 Shets-Sheet 2 Fame 14/. \a/vt'rrEM IN VEN TOR.

A TTOE/VE Y.

HANDRAIL SAFETY DEVICE Peter W. Van Etten, Richmond, Ind., assignor to Multiscope, Inc., Brooklyn, N. Y., a corporation of Kansas Application January 10, 1956, Serial No. 558,220

1 Claim. (Cl. 198-46) with a pair of travelling handrails, one of which is located at each side of the run of stairs and within easy reach of passengers carried by the steps. Each of the handrails is geared to common shafts and the travel of the handrails is at substantially the same speed as the steps of the stairs. The handrails travel, each in its own orbit, and with the same being exposed for grasping by the passengers of the stairs, and at each of the landings, enter into respective concealed portions of the stairs. The openings where the handrails enter the concealed portions of the stairs fit snugly about the contour of the cross sectional area of the handrails and present certain hazards to passengers and to the operation of the stairs.

In view of the above, the principal object of the invention is the provision of safety devices at the points where the handrails enter the newels of the stairs.

A second object is the provision of safety devices located at the handrail entrances of the newels, with the same being adapted to provide means stopping the movement of the stairs and the handrails upon the engageh ment of the handrails with a foreign object at their entrance into the newel openings.

A third object is the provision of safety devices for handrails of moving stairways which provide an efficient and positive means for arresting the motion of the power unit thereof.

Another object is the provision of safety devices for the handrails of moving Stairways, with the same being formed of resilient material to avoid serious injury to passengers who may come into contact with the safety devices.

A still further object is the provision of safety devices for handrails of moving stairs with the same being located in close proximity with the handrails at their entrances to the newels, and with the safety devices being simple of construction and operation, and which do not detract from the ornamental design and appearance of the stairs.

In order that the invention and the operation thereof may be more fully understood and appreciated, I will now take up a detailed description thereof in which the same will be more fully set forth, with reference thereto being made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a partial side elevation of a moving stairway embodying the principles of the invention and showing one of the handrails thereof.

Figure 2 is an elevation of the upper end of the stair, taken from line 22 of Figure l.

Patented Aug. 19,

Figure 3 is a detail elevation of the lower end of a stair, taken from line 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a detail face elevation of one of the safety devices.

Figure 5 is a detail vertical section, taken through the device on line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a detail horizontal section through the device, taken on line 66 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a diagrammatical view of two of the devices in connection with a pressure-responsive electric switch.

Like characters of reference designate like parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

In order that the construction and the operation of the invention may be more fully understood and appreciated, I will now take up a further detailed description thereof, in which the invention will be more fully and comprehensively set forth.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, numerals 1t) designate handrails which operate in an orbit over respective sprockets located in upper and lower heads of the stairs, with power means (not shown) providing the motive power for both the handrails 10 and the movable steps 11.

Each of the handrails is provided with and carried by a continuous chain running over its respective sprockets. For a portion of its run, each handrail is exposed, with the same passing around its newel 12, and with there being ornamental trim 13 along the exposed run of the handrail and providing means concealing the handrail chain together with the guides or tracks.

A plate 14 is provided at each of the newels near the floor, with apertures being provided in the plates through which the handrails operate in their orbits.

In order to provide against injury to passengers of the stairs or to the stair mechanism, I have provided a safety device at each of the handrail apertures in the newel plate 14, with the safety device being composed of rubber or other suitable flexible member 15 having an opening formed of a shape to coincide with a cross-sectional profile of the handrail members, and with the inner edges of the member 15 being in close proximity with the peripheral surface of the handrail members.

Each of the members 15 has a void or air space 16 for-med therein and has a single tube or passage 17 communicating therewith, as more clearly shown in Figures 5 and 6. Each of the extremities of the void 16 is closed and with the tube 17 providing the sole means for the passage of air into and out of the void 16. Flanges 18 and 19 are formed around the outer edges of the device for the insertion thereinto of the plates 14.

Referring to Figure 7, the tube 17 is connected, by means of tubing 20, to a pressure-responsive electrical switch 21, and with there being a T at 22, as shown in Figure 7. Electric wires 23 and conduit 24 extend from the pressure-responsive switch 21 to the power circuit of the stairs.

A switch plate 25, having a Stop button 26 and a key switch 27, is located in one of the newel plates at each of the landings. The buttons 26 provide means for stopping the motion of the stairs and handrails, while the key switch provides means through which the stair mechanism may be started in motion.

Operation The safety devices are positioned as shown in Figures 2 and 3 and form a part of the stair. Should a passengers hand or a portion of his clothing follow the handrail in its orbit and engage portion 28. of the safety device, there will occur a change in atmospheric pressure in the void 16 and with the change in pressure being carried through tube 20 to the pressure-responsive elec- 3 trical switch, the action thereof being transferred, through electrical circuit, to the power circuit and, interrupting the power supply, will stop the electric power driving unit. Should an object, either accidentally or intentionally, come in contact with the safety device to cause a change in the atmospheric pressure in the void 16, the power is immediately arrested and serious injury is prevented either to the object or to the stair mechanism.

I am fully aware that pressure-responsive devices, as such, are old in the art in the use of signal systems and in providing safety devices of moving objects, but to my knowledge, the same have never been provided in the construction and operation of moving stairways to prevent injuries to the passengers thereof or to the stair mechanism.

Although the device is shown and described in its presently preferred form, I desire that it be understood that minor changes may be made in the design and construction thereof and that any material, suitably adapted thereto, may be used in the formation or construction thereof, insofar as the changes therein may fall within the scope of the appended claim.

Having now fully shown and described the invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

In a moving stairway provided with moving handrails and having newels located at each end thereof with the handrails moving in their respective orbits and entering the newels, a safety device located in a newel and partially encircling a respective handrail in its movement therethrough, said safety device being formed of flexible material with the handrail opening therethrough coinciding with the outer peripheral contour of the handrail and fitting closely thereto, with the safety device having a void formed therein in substantially parallel relation with the outer peripheral contour of the handrail with both ends of the void being closed, a passage communicating with the void and located substantially midway between the ends thereof, and with the passage being adapted to connect with a pressure-responsive electrical switch electrically connected with the power circuit of the moving stair.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 286,888 Wiswall Oct. 16, 1883 2,080,980 Fiedler May 18, 1937 2,251,180 Wesley July 29, 1941 

